Cost to Battle Statewide Wildfires Has Topped the $200 Million Mark; Gov. Ferguson, Others Seek Meeting with Trump
In the span of a month, firefighting costs for 20 wildfires burning across Washington have totaled $207 million, according to data from the state’s Department of Natural Resources.
The expenses will be split among local, state and federal agencies. But the number is telling: Those 20 fires, some of which are still burning, have cost more than two-thirds of what the DNR spent over the last state fiscal year battling wildfires.
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The amount reflects spending between July and August on the Kaiser Canyon Fire, the Spokane fires and the Sinlahekin Fire, among others. It includes firefighting costs, such as crews and aircraft, and does not include disaster recovery expenses.
“We’re in a wildfire crisis fueled by drought and extreme weather,” said Michael Kelly, communications director at the Department of Natural Resources, the lead state agency on wildfire response.
More than 770,000 acres across Washington have burned in 2026 alone. That’s the third-highest acreage on record and the fire season is still months away from ending, Kelly said.
In the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, the DNR spent more than ever on wildfires at an estimated $304.8 million. This surpassed what the state budgeted by nearly $18 million.
To close that funding gap, which is also at its highest peak, the agency will request emergency funds through the federal government under what’s known as the Clarke-McNary Act. It will not have to pay that money back.
The last time the department requested funds from the federal emergency account was in 2024, for nearly $15 million.
At a time when the state is dealing with budget shortfalls, the DNR will likely ask for more wildfire funding next session. The governor’s budget proposal is slated to be released in December.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
“We need to continue and deepen those investments,” Kelly said. “We can’t afford to take our foot off the gas because the wildfire crisis isn’t going to let up anytime soon.”
Ferguson, Baumgartner Seek Meeting with Trump on WA Wildfires
Meanwhile, Washington’s Democratic governor and a Republican congressman are asking President Donald Trump to meet with them to discuss the wildfires that have devastated parts of the state this summer.
In their letter Monday, Gov. Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, who represents eastern Washington, told the Republican president they want to discuss the state’s forthcoming request for federal recovery aid after the fires in Spokane and elsewhere.
“Thank you again for your help with the devastating fires in our state and your personal engagement on this disaster,” they wrote. “We appreciate all that you and your team are doing to provide assistance during this very difficult time.”
They wrote that Ferguson’s staff was communicating with White House officials to see if the meeting is doable.
White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said this past Wednesday that Trump examines each request for federal assistance “with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.”
“The Trump administration remains committed to empowering and working with State and local governments to invest in their own resilience before disaster strikes, making response less urgent and recovery less prolonged,” Bis continued.
Nearly 800,000 acres, or upward of 1,200 square miles, have burned in wildfires this year in Washington, making it already one of the worst fire seasons in history.
In and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, more than 800 buildings were destroyed, and tens of thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate when a trio of fires erupted in early August. Other major fires have burned across central and eastern Washington, with some of the smoke descending at times into western Washington.
Ferguson earlier this month invited Trump, who he’s criticized fiercely over other issues, to tour the damage in Spokane. It’s unclear if the president responded, but Interior Secretary Doug Burgum came in the aftermath of the fires there and on the Colville Reservation in northeast Washington.
Baumgartner, a former state senator and Spokane County treasurer, said on social media that he appreciates “how responsive the White House has been to the E. Washington fires.”
“And I’m pleased at how unified both Republican and Democrat elected leaders at the Federal, state and local level have been in working to get those impacted the help they need,” the first-term congressman continued. “Much work to do.”
The state’s request for a major disaster declaration will follow a previous one Trump approved to provide federal emergency support for the eastern Washington wildfires. If approved, the disaster declaration through the Federal Emergency Management Agency will allow residents who lost their homes or were otherwise affected by the fires to get federal aid.
Ferguson and Baumgartner believe this would help thousands of Washingtonians.
“Many of those individuals have lost everything,” they wrote in their letter.
The disaster declaration would be similar to what Trump Ok’ed after the historic flooding last December, which resulted in the distribution of upward of $14 million in federal assistance. In that case, it took about five weeks for the governor’s request for individual aid to be submitted.
The federal government can also provide money for governments and tribes to deal with infrastructure damage.
Ferguson last week signed an emergency proclamation to expand state assistance for fire victims.
Ferguson and Baumgartner have rarely found common ground since they both took office last year. Baumgartner even challenged Ferguson to a debate last year during the federal government shutdown. –
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